Summer Tales The Quest of Death, War and a Hutner
by The Emerald's Edge
Summary: Nicholas Kennedy, Jennifer Kei and Aaron Cage. Three half-bloods that met a few months ago begin their summer a little more chaotic than normal people. After a fearful encounter they escape to Half-Blood Hill and officially begin their new lives.
1. Starting out

The city that never sleeps New York, a Greyhound bus was currently caught in a traffic jam on Main Street, from what the passengers could gather several collisions had occurred and blocked the roads for an undetermined amount of time. Several of the passengers were making calls and texting telling various people that they were going to be late due to the jam in traffic. In the center row of the bus a young man around the age of 17 sat in the window seat with his head leaning against the window and his eyes closed _"Why New York of all places?"_ he wandered _"I can understand being sent to these special schools, but one in New York is going too far"_.

Opening his eyes and the young man realized that the traffic jam wasn't going to end for a long time and he had a schedule to keep so he got up from his seat slung his travel bag over his shoulder and walked over to the driver and asked him to open the doors. The driver obliged him and told him to be careful on the streets of New York and the young man nodded before thanking him.

Now standing in the middle of the traffic jam the young man looked around at all the cars and buildings that were so close together until he got dizzy from looking up at them "Better get going then" he said to himself before he turned for the sidewalk and began walking.

It took him just short of three hours to reach his destination, but he finally got there, looking up at the sign above the front door he read to himself "Anderson Golden Academy…way to rub it in". Walking up to the front door of the so called academy he walked in and headed for the office "This place looks worse on the inside than it does out" he said after seeing the horrible condition of the walls and floors were in.

Entering the office he introduced himself and said that he had an appointment with the principal. The lady at the front desk told him which door to go through before giving him a judgmental glare that made him a very uneasy. The young man continued down the hall and knocked on the open door to the principal's office, when the man sitting behind the desk looked up he said "Ah you must be Nicholas Kennedy. Please have a seat".

The young man sat down and set his bag next to him before brushing back his brown hair "Afternoon sir" he said calmly. "And afternoon to you as well, now let's see you were kicked out of your last school for…oh my, blowing up the boy's bathroom with some kind of explosive". The principal looked up at Nick and back down to the file "Tell me Mr. Kennedy what led you to do that".

Nick ran his hand over his hair again before looking the principal in his eyes "You're probably not going to believe me sir, but I didn't do any of that. I'll admit I was in the bathroom when said explosion occurred, but I didn't do it. In all honesty you wouldn't believe me if I told you what happened, heck I wouldn't even believe me".

The principal leaned forward and whispered "Why don't you tell me anyway. We can make it our little secret".

Nick smiled and gave a friendly scoff "All right. I was in the restroom with another student, Harold and I had our share of encounters and it was no secret that we didn't like each other. At the time I just went to splash some water on my face to stay awake through class. When Harold came in I just smiled and tried to leave, but he blocked the door. I asked him to move several times so I can get back to class, but he just stood there and started speaking this other language and the next thing I knew he threw a jar filled with this green liquid at me. I sidestepped the jar, but when it shattered on the wall behind me the whole bathroom burst into flames. Doing the normal thing I panicked pushed Harold aside and ran to pull the fire alarm. Of course my usual luck followed up on the event and when that so called 'investigation' occurred all they found was a destroyed bathroom and scorch marks all over everything"

The principal smiled slightly and leaned back in his chair "That's quite a story Nick and to be honest I believe that you didn't do it, but the whole green fire thing is hard to believe".

Nick cut him off "I agree with you, but I know what I saw sir".

The principal smiled again "Well that aside Nick I hope you'll be able to stay out of trouble here for as long as possible. Even the best behaved student we have here still gets into a few scuffs. Anyway the rules here are the same as any other school in addition to the special rules I'm sure you've read in our little pamphlet" Nick nodded. "Wunderbar" the principal continued as he handed Nick a slip of paper "Your class number and teacher's name. Now if you'll excuse me I have a lot of paperwork to get back to".

Nick got up and grabbed his travel bag "See ya around sir" he said before leaving the room. Walking back into the office the lady at the front desk gave him another glare as he walked out "What's her problem? Does she automatically hate anyone that comes in here?"

Nick reached his class at the far end of the school and gently knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it. When the door opened Nick was face to face with who he assumed to be his new teacher Mr. Field. "Afternoon sir, I'm your new student apparently" Nick said offering to shake his hand. Mr. Field gave him a half sincere handshake before telling him to come inside the classroom and introducing him.

"Listen up" he said in a deep voice that seemed unusual for someone of his age, he couldn't have been more than 26 years old and he sounded like he was at least twice that "This is Nicholas Kennedy. He's joining us from Denver, Colorado. "I know none of you are going to listen, but I'm going to say it anyway. Lay off of him until he gets settled in here understand?"

As Mr. Field continued the introduction Nick calmly scanned each student in the classroom and his eyes rested on two people, one was a boy around his age maybe a year younger. He was sitting in the far back corner of the room twirling a broken pencil through each of his hands and his leg was rapidly flinching in anticipation for something. His red hair was just as tattered and dirty as his clothing he looked like he was just in a war zone. The other person he noticed made his heart stop a girl with long black hair and green eyes that seemed to alternate to black and back to green. She was tapping her left fingers on her desk in succession as she waited for the introduction to end. She was well dressed her clothes were clean and they seemed expensive her light tan clothing seemed to almost blend against her skin tone. She was beautiful.

"That's all for now Nick why don't you take that empty seat over there by Aaron in the back corner" Mr. Field said pointing out the boy in tattered clothing. Nick nodded and made his way through the rows of desks and sat in the desk to the left of Aaron.

Aaron waited for Mr. Field to turn around before tapping Nick on the shoulder with the tip of his broken pencil, once Nick turned his head around Aaron asked "So what did you do to get thrown in here?"

Nick gave him a fake smile and said "I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Someone blew up the boy's bathroom and I just happened to be there when it happened".

Aaron chuckled "Oh man are you serious? That's amazing. All I did was get into a couple of fights".

Nick made another glance at the well dressed girl he noticed earlier and turned back to Aaron "So who's she? She's beautiful".

Aaron looked over at the girl and chuckled again "That's Jennifer Kei. She doesn't talk a lot unless someone's bothering her, which seems to be anyone that comes near her. She's beautiful there's no denying it, but some advice from the expert. Don't go after that one she's…let's say volatile".

Nick felt a small smile creep across his face "So you say it's going to be a challenge then? I'm in".

Aaron laughed again "Well it was nice getting to know you. You'll excuse me if I don't attend your funeral".

Both Nick and Aaron shared a silent laugh as the class continued for the rest of the day. After the school day was over Aaron showed Nick around and even led him to his favorite place to eat in all of New York, McDonalds. "You won't find better food anywhere else man I promise you" he said with an open smile.

Nick gently pushed him off of his shoulder and laughed "Even I can cook better food than these guys".

Aaron was surprised "What you know how to cook?" he scoffed.

Nick nodded "I'm half Native American, Comanche to be exact. I lived with my father for a long time so I learned all the traditions to our heritage from hunting to skinning and cooking an animal while thanking the gods for the hunt and the kill which provided our food".

Aaron seemed impressed "So you can cook an animal and you can hunt? Have you ever gone on a hunt alone?"

Nick nodded "All men in the Comanche tribes have to go on a hunt alone on the day they turn 13 and they cannot return until they land a kill…" Nick paused and moved his right hand over his upper left arm as he started to recall the events of his first hunt "I tracked what I thought at first to be a buffalo, but when the tracks ended I was attacked by a strange animal. I tried to defend myself and shot it with several arrows, but it didn't even flinch or bleed from them. In fact they just passed right through it like it was a ghost or something. It swiped at me and managed to scratch my arm" Nick paused to show Aaron the scar that ran along his upper left arm "It pounced me and pinned me to the ground I thought I was finished, but a silver arrow of all things flew by and stuck the creature before it died".

After Nick finished telling Aaron the story Aaron laughed "Come on man you really expect me to believe all that? An arrow that glowed in a silver light killed a demon of some sort?"

Nick shrugged "Far fetched I know, but I know what I saw".

Aaron figured Nick was just imagining things, but he remembered something very similar happened to him once, but the memory was really fuzzy. "Hey why don't you come over to my place for a while I think my mom will like you".

Nick gave him an unsure look "Wouldn't I be imposing a bit?"

Aaron seemed confused "I don't even know what that means. It'll be fine come one"

Nick reluctantly agreed and followed Aaron to his apartment on 3rd street. After a short walk Nick and Aaron had arrived at his apartment "Well this is it. My home sweet home" Aaron laughed as he led Nick up to the fourth floor and unlocked his apartment door "Mom I'm home" he called after closing the door behind them.

A calm, but pained voice responded from the next room "Aaron. Perfect timing I could use some help in her I'm a little stuck".

"Mom!" Aaron cried as he jumped over the coffee table and ran into the next room. Nick quickly followed to see Aaron's mom lying on the floor her left arm trapped under an over turned bookshelf "Mom are you ok?" Aaron asked leaning down and lifting the bookshelf up.

"I'm fine I just tripped and pulled the shelf down dear" she said as Nick helped her to her feet. "Thank you. Who's your friend Aaron?"

"This is my new classmate Nick, we're already firm friends" Aaron explained. Over the next few hours Nick talked with Aaron and his mom, after realizing that nightfall had already started Nick figured he should start heading back to the academy to find his room. "Come on dude bordering rooms suck man why don't you stay here with us for the night we have a spare room…sort of".

Nick declined, but Aaron's mom insisted on it since traveling alone at night in New York was dangerous. Nick eventually agreed and set his bag down in a small room before lying down for the night.

Over the next two months Nick had managed to settle in to his new school pretty well, he managed to avoid conflict with other students and stayed away from conflicts that didn't involve him. He approached Jennifer Kei several times just to get to know her and Aaron was right she was calm, but something about her seemed different, it was almost like a curtain of cold was covering her. Whatever it was it made Nick feel strange almost fearful, but he pushed that obstacle aside as he tried to talk to her again.

While Mr. Field had his class outside explaining the life cycle of several plants that only grew in the western states. Nick inched himself towards Jennifer "So Jen you don't really seem to like me much".

Jennifer looked at him with friendly eyes "I like you as long as you keep your distance. I'm not big on the whole social aspect of school".

Nick smiled "I don't personally care for social positions, but I like talking to people I'm interested in such as you, Aaron and Mr. Field. Something about him seems a bit too constant almost like he's hiding something".

Jennifer made a small glance at Nick before saying "Look Nick, you're a nice guy, but you're wasting your time with me".

Nick's smile faded for a second before he turned and made eye contact with Jennifer "At least give me a chance at it. Tell you what, how about you pick something you're good at like say a game of chess or something. And if I manage to beat you at it you have to agree to go on a date with me".

Jennifer shook her head before looking back at Nick "Fine, but I'm going to need time to think about your little challenge".

Nick mentally cheered as he turned back to Mr. Field who was still going on about the life cycle of western plants. Just as the school day ended Nick and Aaron decided to catch a movie before going their separate ways to their surprise Jennifer was also at the theatre. "Well this is going to be a fun movie the three of us in one house" Nick said after realizing she bought a ticket to the same movie he and Aaron were going to see.

Jennifer didn't say anything until Aaron went off to the concession stand leaving her and Nick alone in front of the house door "I couldn't think of anything for your little bet, being completely honest there's not a lot of things I'm good at" she said in a regretful tone.

Nick fell silent as he thought for a moment "Ok how about this then" he said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a quarter "I'll flip this and you call it 50/50 chance sound fair?"

Jennifer sighed "If I call it right will you stop pestering me?"

Nick smiled at her "Summer vacation starts tomorrow so I'll leave you alone for the whole summer. I'll try again next year".

Jennifer gave a short laugh "You don't give up. All right tails".

Nick flipped the coin into the air and caught it in his palm…heads "Looks like I won" he said.

Jennifer had a defeated look on her face as she went into the theatre house to watch the movie with Nick behind her and Aaron still at the concession stand.

During the opening credits Aaron came in and sat next to Nick who was leaning his left arm over the back of his chair and occasionally making a quick glance to Jennifer who sat a few rows behind them. "I got Jennifer to agree to go out with me" he said as Aaron sat down.

Shocked Aaron looked back and whispered "No way. You're yanking me".

Nick slowly shook his head "Nope. One date is all I've got, but I'm hoping my charm will get her interested enough in me to agree to a second".

Throughout the movie Nick and Aaron remained silent, laughing quietly whenever the characters did something funny or stupid. During the end credits Nick and Aaron stood up to leave, but they saw someone in a long heavy jacket walking over to them from the bottom row.

"I didn't even see that guy there. Where did he come from?" Aaron asked as the tall man continued to walk towards them. Nick looked behind him and saw another man in the same heavy jacket approaching Jennifer as well and he immediately knew something wasn't right about this.

Nick whispered "Hey Aaron something really bad is about to happen I need you to stay calm and when I give you the signal I want you to run towards the screen and stay where I can see you".

Aaron was confused "What are you talking about? What's going on?"

Once the tall man was a mere foot away form Nick he yelled go as he pulled a knife out from under his belt and threw it the tall guy who yelled in pain, no not yelled more like a roar…a roar from something that wasn't human.

The tall figure that was approaching Jennifer looked behind him to see Nick pushing the other over the chairs sending him tumbling down them and roared in rage as he ran down to attack Nick. "Jen run" Nick yelled to her as Aaron ran up the other side telling Jennifer to follow him out of the theatre.

Nick ducked under an attempted strike by the tall guy and grabbed hold of his jacket and pulled it down revealing the Cyclops underneath it "Two Cyclops' perfect" he yelled as he threw the jacket over the Cyclops' head and pushed it over as well sending it down the rows of chairs like his friend.

"Come on we need to go now" Nick yelled as he ran for the aisle and led Jennifer and Aaron out of the theatre. After they ran out of the theatre and through a few alleys Aaron stopped and demanded to know what was going on "Sorry Aaron, but I swear to you both I will explain what's going on in a few minutes just please follow me those two were probably the only ones, but we can't take that chance".

Nick reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone "Emergency use this qualifies" he said frantically as he dialed a number. After a few rings someone answered "Chase I've got a problem down here. I've found two recruits and there's some trouble following us. I need a safe way out of here for three people".

The female voice on the other side of the phone said "Head for the edge of the river Percy and I will be waiting there with a chariot".

"Got it we'll head there now" Nick said before hanging up the phone "Let's go" he said to Jennifer and Aaron as he took off through the next alleyway.

After a few minutes of running the three of them reached the river and Nick looked around "Here we go" he said reaching into his bag and pulling out a flare gun.

"Dude where'd you get that?" Aaron asked when he saw the flare gun fire into the air.

"I figured I need a way to signal for help in case trouble found me. Looks like I was right" Nick said as he scanned the sky.

Jennifer stepped forward and asked "What exactly is going on here Nick?"

Nick looked at both of them and began explaining as much as he could "This is going to be hard to believe, but I'm a demigod half-human half-god. Greek god to be exact, I was sent to Anderson Academy because one of our scouts reported that he found two demigods, you two".

"What!" Aaron yelled as a chariot landed behind Nick with two people on it, a boy with black hair and a girl with blonde hair "Let's go" the girl said as Nick turned to Jennifer and Aaron.

"Get on we don't have much time" he said as the roar of the two Cyclops' echoed through the alleys. Seeing their hesitance Nick promised that if they follow him everything would be explained, but they had to get on the chariot and leave with him.

"This is a crazy way to start summer vacation bro" Aaron said as he walked towards the chariot.

Nick looked over at Jennifer "Jen please you have to trust me" he begged holding his hand out.

Reluctantly she took his hand and they got on the chariot just as the two Cyclops' ran from the alley waving their clubs in anger at their escape. The chariot flew high into the air before leveling and flying straight.

"Aaron Cage, Jennifer Kei meet Percy Jackson son of Poseidon and Annabeth Chase daughter of Athena" Nick said as he looked between the four of them.

"Poseidon and Athena?" Jennifer asked "the Greek gods of the sea and wisdom?"

Annabeth looked at her as if she was sizing her up and judging her "Its true. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true".

Nick looked back at both Aaron and Jennifer and began explaining what happened back there and where they were going. "That's all the basics anyway" he said as he finished explaining "I know this is really hard to follow, but it's all true and we're about to give you proof of it".

Nick pointed at the ground as the chariot turned downward and headed for a small camp that sat in the middle of nowhere at the edge of a large forest and the Long-Island sound "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood Hill you two" he said as they landed and were immediately surround by campers all of who wear wearing orange t-shirts with Camp Half-Blood written on them.

* * *

**A/N.** That's chapter 1 I hope those of you that read it enjoy it. This entire story is going to take place during the summer after book three "The Titan's Curse".


	2. Rules of Their New Life

Nick quickly jumped off the chariot and held his hand out to Jennifer as she got off "I'll take both of you to see Chiron, he'll explain everything" he said as she took his hand.

"Chiron? Why does that name sound familiar?" Aaron asked after stepping off the chariot along with Percy and Annabeth.

"The centaur from Greek mythology? The same Chiron that trained Perseus and other great heroes?" Jennifer asked still shocked by the events from earlier.

"Yep same guy" Nick told her as he began leading her and Aaron through the crowd of campers and toward the big house "And to answer you're next question yes he's very old".

After a few minutes they finally reached the big house and found Chiron playing Pinochle with everyone's favorite irritable camp director Mr. D. "Nicholas you're finally back. Good to see you've survived another year" the old man in the wheelchair said when he saw Nick approaching the steps.

"I had enough run ins to last me for the rest of the year, but it comes with the territory nothing I couldn't handle though" Nick replied with a blank smile "Chiron these are the two demi-gods our scout found. May I introduce Jennifer Kei and Aaron Cage".

Chiron bowed his head to both Jennifer and Aaron in a respective manner "Welcome both of you. I'm sure you both have many questions and I promise you I will answer what I can. Please follow me, if you'll excuse us Mr. D" Chiron moved back from the table and his wheelchair began unfolding. Piece by piece the wheelchair unfolded until Chiron began climbing out revealing the lower part of his body that was all horse.

Shaking the horse part of his body he sighed heavily "Shall we go then" he said stepping off the porch and leading the three of them back towards camp.

"So what exactly is going on I've been called a demi-god twice today?" Aaron asked once they left the big house.

Chiron looked towards the cabins that were arranged in a U shape "You're a demi-god Aaron, much like in the old Greek stories about great heroes that were half human half god. One of your parents was a god that goes for you as well Jennifer".

Nick looked over to the cabins and slowly scanned each of the goddess cabins remaining very silent as he pondered each one. "Nicholas" Chiron called from a few yards away snapping Nick out of his train of thought.

"Sorry" he called back before rushing after them "Lost in thought again".

Chiron smiled at him "I'm sure you'll find out eventually Nicholas. Heroes with your talents and bravery are never overlooked".

Looking up at the centaur Nick said "I have no doubts Chiron I'm just trying to figure out who she is, assuming it's one of the Olympians anyway. For all I know it could be one of the minor goddess'. And please sir call me Nick, that's the third time I've asked you".

Aaron quickly ran behind Chiron and over to Nick's side "So what your mother is your god parent?"

Nick nodded "I've been here for a year now and I still haven't figured out who it is yet. I'm not gonna lie it's somewhat disappointing. After I was told I was a demi-god I figured I'd finally get to meet my mother for the first time in my life, but no such luck yet" Nick looked up at the sky and smiled cheerfully "I can wait though. Being a demi-god is about as far from a normal life as you can get, but its fun".

Aaron looked to Chiron and asked "So who's my father then? I've never met him before so it's safe to assume that he's my god parent".

Chiron dropped his smile and looked at both Jennifer and Aaron "It's not possible to guess until I see your talents, it could be one of the Olympians or a minor god, but most gods usually claim their children. Some don't get claimed, but that's very few. Until we find out who your fathers are the two of you will be staying in the Hermes cabin I'll have Nick introduce you to the rest of your cabin mates after the tour".

Chiron continued the tour of camp starting with the cabins and the god each one was built for before continuing to the dinning pavilion and then the archery range. Stopping at the edge of the forest he explained the capture the flag event that was held once every summer and whenever the Hunters of Artemis would stay at the camp "If Percy didn't pull that foolish stunt over the winter we would've won" Nick said in a false angry tone "I had Zoë Nightshade in my line of sight a clear shot and we would've won, but he had to be stupid and leave our flag unguarded" Nick looked up to the sky and saluted "She was a great hunter and a great person in the end. By the blessings of Artemis her memory lives on".

"She died?" Jennifer asked as Nick dropped his salute.

Nick nodded before quickly explaining the events that happened over the past winter "In the final battle against the titan Atlas Zoë fell to her father, but with her death Artemis' victory was assured and Atlas was forced back to his place under the sky. Apparently after that Thalia Grace took over her position as Artemis' lieutenant. A shame really Thalia was always fun to be around pretty much everyone here liked her".

"Let's move on shall we" Chiron said as he turned back towards the cabins "That's the complete tour of camp I'll leave the final part to Nick who will introduce you to the Hermes cabin campers" after he finished speaking Chiron galloped off back to the big house leaving the three half bloods alone with each other.

Nick waited until Chiron was far enough away before turning to Jennifer and Aaron "There are a few things he didn't mention. Demi-gods and electronics don't mix such as cell phones, computers and so on. We use cell phones for dire situations and usually discard them afterwards. I don't get it myself, but somehow monsters can zero in on our location if we use them. But it's safe here in camp so if you like you can use mine to call home and let them know you're all right".

Aaron quickly spoke up "Yeah I really should let my mom know. She worries a lot". Aaron took the phone and began dialing his home number while Nick looked over to Jennifer who had a sad look on her face.

After Aaron placed the cell phone to his ear Nick stepped over to Jennifer and placed his arm around her should "A lot to take in isn't it?"

Surprisingly Jennifer shook her head "Not really. Somehow I always knew I wasn't destined for a normal life that's one of the reasons I stayed away from other people. The thing is this is still a big change and I'm just not comfortable with it yet".

Nick scoffed "You should've seen me when I first got here. I was freaking out. I almost fainted when I first saw Chiron get out of his magic box he calls a wheelchair" Nick paused to laugh before continuing "Don't worry too much though if you have questions or just need to talk to someone I'm here, we're friends right? That's what friends do"

Jennifer gave him a small smile as she nodded before Aaron closed Nick's phone and handed it back to him who quickly gave it to Jennifer "Your turn".

After Jennifer took the phone from him Nick looked to Aaron and asked how his mom took the news. "She sounded happy more or less. She said she wanted to tell me, but dad said it was best that I didn't know until everything started. At least now I know why she was always so worried about me".

Nick nodded his head to the side "Mothers always worry about their kids. Well normal ones do anyway. God mothers seem to worry very little, okay a few of them worry a bit more than others, but gods are still gods so they don't let on that they actually care".

Jennifer hung up the phone and handed it to Nick and he could tell that she didn't like the chat she had with her mother. Nick felt it was best not to say anything yet so he took his phone back and led both of them to cabin eleven the Hermes cabin.

After opening the door to the cabin he called over Travis and Connor Stoll the counselors of Hermes cabin "Jennifer, Aaron this is Travis and Connor Stoll. Now while they are the cabin heads they are also sons of Hermes which means watch your belongings around them. And before you do anything they say make sure you run it by me first they can't really be trusted".

"Hey I resent that" Connor said trying to act like Nick's remark hurt him.

"Resent it or not, you two can't be trusted you're the sons of the god of thieves would you trust you?" Nick asked before leading Aaron and Jennifer by them and towards the back of the crowded cabin. "I know it's pretty bad, but Hermes is also the god of travelers so until their claimed demi-gods stay here. I've asked Chiron and Mr. D several times to consider expanding the cabin a bit to accommodate more campers, but I don't think it's going to happen. If I ever meet Hermes in person I'll ask him if he's ok with it. Now I'll find each of you a pillow and blanket later you can take the corner over here for now. With any luck you'll be claimed tonight at dinner. Now that's it for the tour of the cabin let's head back outside".

After exiting the cabin Nick led them over to the amphitheatre "There are only three places where I feel comfortable in this place" he told them as he walked down to the bottom row "The lone tree a few yards from the edge of the woods, the dock at the lake and right here. I always go to one of these places when I need some alone time to think. Basically if you ever need to find me check those spots if I'm not at archery practice or the climbing wall you'll know to where to check".

Nick sat at the front row and lied on his back with his arms behind his head "So if you two have any questions left or would like to know more ask and receive".

"When is this capture the flag thing?" Aaron asked finally sounding enthusiastic.

Nick smiled from the corner of his mouth Most of the time it's the second Friday of each summer so most likely its gonna be next week".

Jennifer remained silent while Aaron continued to ask questions that Nick would answer in an increasingly sleepy tone. Finally yawning Nick raised his legs up and kicked up from the stone bench and stretched his arms "I always get so sleepy when I come here" he said before turning to face them.

"Kennedy" a harsh female voice yelled from the top of the steps.

"Greeeeat" Nick said in a drone voice as he turned to the steps "What do you want now La Rue?" he yelled.

At the top of the steps were three campers two males and a female the latter seemed really angry. All of them had red hair and their eyes seemed to have a crimson shade to them, their clothing was tattered and beaten as if they were just in a very rough fight. As the three of them walked down to them Nick introduced them as children of the war god Ares "Clarisse La Rue. Must we go through this again?" Nick asked in a wearily annoyed voice.

Clarisse growled "I'm not gonna let a second year punk like you get away with what you did".

Nick looked over to Jennifer and Aaron and waved his hand for them to back up "So you brought some backup. Only three of you, you really thought that was going to be enough?"

Clarisse glared at him "They're not here to fight for me. They're only here to bare witness to the humiliation you're about to suffer".

Immediately after she finished speaking Clarisse drew her sword from her sheath and tried to attack Nick who was ready. Ducking under the swing Nick grabbed Clarisse by her sword arm and twisted her wrist forcing her to drop the sword as he spun behind her and placed her in a headlock with the blade of his knife pressed against her throat "You lose again" he whispered before pushing her away "Learn a lesson already. Until you start thinking" Nick stopped to tap his finger against his temple "You won't be able to beat me. This isn't about foolish pride it's about sense".

Nick placed his knife back into its leather sheath and walked away with Clarisse's sword in his hands and Aaron and Jennifer following him. "What was that all about?" Aaron asked him.

"Clarisse tried to put me through what she called an initiation when I first got to camp and I made her look like a fool. Ever since I've basically had a target on my back for just about every camper in the Ares cabin, anyway its nothing to worry about she's just trying to get into my head more than she's trying to injure me".

Stopping at the Ares cabin Nick stabbed the sword into the ground near the steps before continuing to the Hephaestus cabin "If you'll excuse me for a few minutes I've got an order to pick up" he said before knocking on the door to the cabin.

After the door opened a girl who seemed to be about 18 greeted Nick with a smile. Her face was covered in soot and was beat red from working "Hello Nick. Just in time I got those arrows ready for you" she said reaching behind the door and handing Nick a small quiver of ten arrows.

"Thanks Mina. These are gonna be real useful" Nick said before handing her several gold coins and a small box "Those are the parts you asked me to bring you while I was out there sorry it took so long to get back with them".

"No worries enjoy the arrows. Oh and remember that for them to go off you need to spark them against something" she said with a smile before closing the door.

"What did she mean spark them? Are they some kind of explosive?" Aaron asked as Nick slung the quiver over his shoulders and hooked it against his back. Nick reached his right hand behind his back to the quiver to test his reach against the availability of the arrows "Prefect fit" he said before turning to Aaron "Yeah something like that. Since I usually end up lucky enough to face more than one monster when I go out I decided it would be best to have a more range of attack so I pitched the idea of a shrapnel arrow to Mina and she got to work on it".

Nick pulled out one of the arrows and pointed at the tip "I'm not entirely sure how they work, but if I spark the tip against something say a rock or enemy breastplate the tip will explode sending shrapnel to both sides and in a frontal cone. That way I have the chance to take down more than one opponent and at the least cause a distraction to get away. Now even after the shrapnel is released the arrow still as a tip so it's still effective even if I were to retrieve it".

Sliding the arrow back into his quiver Nick smiled again "In the event either of you ever face a monster you need to remember that regular weapons such as steel or even guns have no effect on them. Some kind of magic protects them against any harm that would come from them. The only way to damage them is to use a weapon forged of celestial bronze". Pulling out the knife he used against Clarisse he held it up for them to see the blade "Celestial bronze is a special ore mined from Mount Olympus that is very effective against monsters, gods and even our kind. As demi-gods however we're vulnerable to both normal weapons and celestial bronze so be careful".

After Nick finished explaining he slid his knife back into its leather sheath and turned around. Aaron asked "Why is that knife so small? It doesn't seem like an effective weapon it's barely longer than your finger".

Nick stopped again and held the knife tightly against his side "It's a scalping knife. In the old days the Comanche Indians would use knives like this made from jagged stone to cut the scalp off of their enemies, nowadays however its mainly a tradition to make one from stone, but since the one I made isn't effective against monster I had one made of celestial bronze that way if I ever get in close combat I have this to fall back on".

"A rule of honor is the one who lands the killing blow against the monster takes whatever weapon, armor piece of part of the creature as his trophy. I take their scalps; believe it or not it frightens some monsters think of it as a psychological warfare tactic".

"Psych warfare" Aaron repeated gleefully "Dude the way you say it makes it sound so cool".

Nick noticed that Jennifer still had the same sad look she had since she got off the phone with her mother and finally decided it was time to talk to her "Hey Aaron would you mind giving me and Jen some time alone?" he asked Aaron.

"Sure thing, I'll see you guys later" Aaron said after running his hand through his red hair.

After Aaron left them alone Nick looked to Jen and asked her what was bothering her so much. Jen remained silent for a brief moment before finally telling him "My stepfather drinks a lot. I never really liked him, but my mom always told me there was a good reason why he was around. She finally told me when I told her where I was. I just never thought she kept that creep around to protect me. I'm worried about my mom though, Josh isn't a friendly person once he finds out that I'm not going to be home for the summer he'll turn his anger on her".

Nick could sense that Jennifer was on the verge of tears, but he wasn't really sure what to do in this situation. Before he realized it he had his arms around her holding her to him which surprisingly enough seemed to work to some degree. "It'll be fine Jen. Don't worry".

It took a few minutes, but Jen calmed down and Nick backed away from her. Once he began to let go he realized something that he didn't when he was holding her, there was a cold feeling aura around her the same cold feeling he felt the first time he talked to her only this one seemed more intense, but unlike the first time it wasn't unsettling it was more peaceful and accepting. From the dinning pavilion they heard a strange horn sounding and Nick nodded in the direction of origin "Dinner's about to start we better get back" he said gently as he turned to lead her back to camp.

Just as Nick turned around Jen grabbed hold of his hand and held it tightly "You're the first person I've told any of this to" she said as she walked next to him.

Nick smiled "Yeah, but I'm also the first person you've talked to for more than two seconds".

Jen giggled as they reentered the row of cabins and walked back to the Hermes cabin.

* * *

**A/N.** That's chapter 2 hope you enjoy it.

I'd like to let my readers know that the various grammar issues and seemingly mis placed words or phrases is due to an issue with the document up loader. I thoroughly check each document I submit several times to make sure it's free of errors, but for some unknown reason it still messes with a few things.


	3. Countdown

It's been eleven days since Nick brought Aaron and Jennifer to camp Half Blood and they were both taking it differently, Aaron got used to it a little too quick and injured himself several times while practicing in the sword fighting arena. Jennifer continued as she usually did and avoided others even though both Nick and Chiron told her this was a place where she could interact with others that were just like her she still didn't feel like she really belonged there.

Each night since she first arrived there Jennifer would wait until everyone else in the Hermes cabin was asleep before sneaking out to stare at the clear night sky. Every night she would sneak out of the cabin after everyone else had fallen asleep and once outside the door she would silently climb to the top of the cabin and sit on its roof for some reason she felt at peace when she was under the night sky nothing seemed to bother her.

Tonight was no different once the final camper had fallen asleep she silently crept along the floor carefully avoiding each person in the over crowded cabin until she made it outside she gracefully scaled the front posts of the cabin before silently jumping to the ledge of the window and lifting herself onto the roof.

Once at the center she sat down and looked up at the sky and her mind finally cleared, once again she began going over all the events that led to her ending up at camp and more specifically why she still felt like she didn't belong here. She continued to think about the same thing until a voice snapped her back to reality.

"Just what are you doing up there?"

Looking behind the cabin she saw Nick standing on the ground with a bow and a full quiver strapped on his back. Jennifer didn't say anything she waited for him to climb up to the roof before speaking "I couldn't sleep".

Nick sat next to her and set his quiver and bow on the other side of him "You've had a hard time sleeping since you got here. You've been coming up here every night".

Jennifer was surprised she looked at him with an open mouth before returning her gaze to the sky "You're pretty good at pretending to be asleep".

Nick chuckled silently "No. I'm just a light sleeper; it doesn't take much to wake me".

Jennifer looked at the bow and quiver Nick had and asked "Why do you have those? Were you hunting or something?"

Nick nodded "I couldn't sleep so I tried to track down that one creature that keeps eluding me. It's the best hunt I've ever been on, since last summer I've been hunting that creature and it's escaped every time". Looking over to Jennifer Nick smiled before asking why she kept sneaking out every night.

Looking down at her shoes her voice changed to a hollow tone as she replied "I think better when I'm under the night sky. There are still some things that I don't fully understand so I came out here to think".

Nick nodded his head to the side "Well I know that feeling. Before this whole half blood thing started I would sneak out of my tipis often to go somewhere quiet enough to think. I would never go too far just in case something happened. In south west New Mexico there are a lot of open plains and sometimes my dad would take me out there so we could continue traditional rituals and hunts that were part of the Comanche tribes".

"New Mexico? I thought you were from Denver" Jennifer said after he finished speaking.

Nick nodded again "I lived in Denver before I came here, but I was born and raised in New Mexico where I could learn the ways of my people as I grew up. My father always told me that my mother was a special person, but he never told me who she was even now he won't tell me" Nick looked up at the sky and a sly smile appeared on his face "But it doesn't matter. I'll figure it out eventually".

Jennifer stared at the moon for a few minutes before continuing the conversation "If you did meet your mother. What would you say to her? Would you be angry that she never claimed you?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders "I'm not sure. I suppose a small part of me would be angry at her, but I would hope that most of me would just be happy to know who she is. Ever since I found out that I'm a demi god the only thing I wanted was to find out who my mother is, nothing more well until I met you anyway".

"What do you mean?" Jennifer asked looking away from him.

Nick smiled as he closed his eyes and laid back on his elbows "Well when I first met you my first thought was why someone as beautiful as you was in a horrible school like that. My next thought was I wanted to know you better and that's what led to me talking to you, after that I asked you out remember? And everything that's happened up to this point well…" Nick's words trailed off and he quickly became silent.

Jennifer hid the small smile on her face "I'll never understand you Nick" she said with a half hearted laugh "You're the one person that…" Jennifer stopped when she noticed that Nick was staring at her with warm eyes "What is it?" she asked him.

Nick dropped his stare and looked away before returning his gaze to her "Sorry, it's just" Nick paused briefly to put his thoughts in order "You look really beautiful in the moonlight".

Jennifer quickly looked away trying to hide her blushing face "Nick" she said quietly.

Nick pushed himself back up to a sitting position, but before he could say anything Jennifer leaned into him and rested her head on his shoulder "That smooth talking of yours is going to get you into trouble one day" she said as she closed her eyes.

Nick grinned "Probably, but it wouldn't be anything I couldn't handle" he said calmly as he wrapped his right arm around her shoulder.

The two of them remained on the roof for over an hour before Nick saw two harpies flying towards the cabins "I was hoping they would be slacking off tonight" he said as gently woke Jennifer "We should get back inside before they see us" he said pointing the harpies out to her.

"What are those?" she asked after zeroing in on the two harpies that were patrolling around the cabins.

"The harpies are ordered to patrol camp each night to make sure no one is violating curfew. I've avoided them many times and seen them slacking off even more times, but they're going to see us if we don't move now" Nick said quietly grabbing his bow and quiver.

"What happens if they see us?" Jennifer asked as they quietly climbed down the roof.

Nick looked over to her and with a blank expression said "They'll eat us".

Dropping off the rear side of the cabin both Nick and Jen crept around and realized that they weren't going to get a straight shot at the cabin door. The harpies were flying right to the Hermes cabin.

"Looks like we're taking the scenic route" Nick said as he motioned for Jen to follow him.

Quickly and quietly running over to the nearest cabin both of them ducked behind it just as the harpies reached the Hermes cabin and began searching around it. "This is gonna be fun" Nick muttered to himself as they crept to the next cabin and then the next.

"I'm just going to guess that they won't listen to reason" Jennifer asked him as they crept over to Hera's cabin and waited.

Nick gave a quiet evil laugh before looking at her "Doubt it".

Nick looked over to the harpies as they reached the Athena cabin Nick realized that there was only one "This isn't good. They split up" he said as he quickly scanned each cabin to find the other one.

"Where's the other one?" Jennifer asked as Nick began scanning each cabin.

"Aw hell" Nick muttered after spotting the other harpy making its way over to the Zeus cabin.

"Jen stay down and don't move" Nick said as he drew an arrow from his quiver and took aim at the harpy that was coming around the back corner of Zeus' cabin.

Once the harpy came around the corner it saw both Nick and Jennifer and let out a shrill shriek that pained their ears. Nick swore in Greek as he released his arrow which stuck in the harpy's wing. The harpy gave out another shriek as the arrow impaled itself in its wing. "Let's go let's go" Nick said as he grabbed Jennifer by the arm and quickly led her past the Zeus cabin and around the other side as the second harpy quickly made its way toward them.

"They're not allowed inside the cabins so if we can just make it back we'll be fine. We'll get in trouble, but we get to stay alive" he said as they rushed around the cabins only to get cut off by a third harpy.

Nick spoke in Greek again and somehow Jennifer understood what he said "Be gone".

Nick quickly drew his knife from its leather sheath and made a lightening fast swing at the harpy's abdomen, but the harpy backed up only allowing him to score a grazing scratch. The harpy reared back and kicked him to the ground next to Jennifer just as the second harpy approached them from behind.

Nick quickly got back to his feet and stood in front of Jen as she backed into the side of the Demeter cabin next to them. Nick kept his scalping knife held firm in his hand as the two harpies approached from both sides.

Jennifer heard someone speak to her, it wasn't Nick, but it sounded like it came from right next to her _"Do not fear them"_ the refined yet powerful sounding voice said.

Stepping out from behind Nick Jen stood her ground in front of both harpies and spoke in a powerful voice "Leave us now!" she said while giving off a cold aura that struck fear into both of the harpies as well as Nick.

Both of the harpies quickly retreated from them at full speed Nick could tell they were scared he was too, but the feeling quickly vanished as Jen stumbled back into his arms.

"Jen!" Nick cried silently as he caught her.

Whatever Jennifer did seemed to tire her out greatly, she was breathing heavily and had a cold sweat running down her forehead. "Come on time to head back to the cabin" Nick said as he lifted one of her arms over his shoulder to help her walk.

Once back at the Hermes cabin Jen finally regained her strength and stepped away from Nick who was hesitant to let her go "You're sure your fine?" he asked her as she leaned against the rail to the cabin steps.

Nodding her head wearily she said "I'm well enough to walk. Just promise me that the next date won't be this tiring".

Nick managed to give a weak chuckle as he opened the door for her "Trust me that wasn't my idea of a date" he said quietly as he closed the door behind him.

The two of them returned to their cramped parts of the cabin before lying back down and forcing themselves to sleep.

The next day was the first capture the flag of the summer and to everyone's surprise the Hunters of Artemis had stopped by to rest before continuing their journey across the country.

"I find this a little too convenient" Nick said at breakfast "Not that I'm complaining. Capture the flag against the hunters is a lot more fun and challenging than it is against other campers".

Travis Stoll lowered his head into his hands and moaned "Speak for yourself. I'm a lover not a fighter, I prefer other campers to the hunters they're ruthless".

"First off" Nick said before slapping Travis' hand away from his platter "You're a thief not a lover. Secondly I prefer the hunters because they're ruthless, it's the only time I get to face someone who's a better archer than me in this place".

Travis moaned again "You're insane man. We're going to get destroyed…Again!"

Nick smiled and looked over at the hunters "We'll see about that. Something tells me that we're going to fare a lot better than you think we are".

After breakfast was over Nick saw Annabeth and Percy talking to Thalia and smiled as he thought about what kind of opponent she would be in the capture the flag game that night.

Hearing someone walking over to him Nick turned around and met Chiron's chest with his eyes "Need something Chiron?" he asked turning his gaze up to make eye contact.

"The harpies told me they saw you and Jennifer out past curfew. This is the second time you've been spotted outside the cabin after lights out Nick" the old centaur told him with a disappointed look.

Nick nodded his head to the side and raised his eye bows "Eh. I couldn't sleep so I decided to go for a walk. I had my bow and quiver with me in case the harpies saw me or even though unlikely something decided to come out of the woods".

Chiron had a small smile on his face "You're a bad liar Nick".

Nick sighed "Yeah I know. So what's the punishment, I'll take two just let Jen off the hook for this one".

Chiron rubbed his graying beard as he thought about Nick's punishment "I'll give you triple cleaning duty for both the stables and the kitchen sound fair?"

Nick nodded "I can handle that" he said calmly before noticing Aaron and Jennifer walking over to them "See you later Chiron" he said before running over to them.

"What'd he want?" Aaron asked as Nick joined them.

"Not much I'm just in trouble for a little rule breaking a few night ago" Nick said before giving Jennifer a quick wink "I got triple cleaning duty for the stables and the kitchen so lucky me" he said trying to make it sound like he was complaining.

"Sucks to be you bro, so what time is this capture the flag thing?" Aaron asked as they passed the Artemis cabin while they were on their way to the armory.

"Eight tonight. So we're going to make sure both of you get in some good combat practice before the big event" Nick told him "Aaron you're too crazy with your sword combat and the sword you're using is too long and heavy for someone you're size so you need a smaller weapon to be more effective. And Jen I'm not sure about you so I'm going to take you to the archery range first while Percy gives Aaron some one on one training sessions".

Arriving at the armory Nick grabbed a few swords and handed them to Aaron telling him to go the sword fighting arena to meet up with Percy.

"See ya tonight then" Aaron said gleefully as he rushed off with the three swords clustered in his arms.

"He acts like a little kid" Jennifer said after he left.

Nick nodded as he began staring at each of the bows that hung from the wall "Yea, but he's just a little more excited than most people would be. He'll calm down eventually, you'll see".

"Ah!" Nick exclaimed before taking a medium long bow from the wall "Here hold on to this" he said handing it to Jennifer before taking the oak lined bow he made when he first came to camp "All right let's get going" he said after grabbing a couple of quiver and leading Jen to the archery range.

Once at the archery range Nick watched Jennifer as she began her first archery practice and was sad to see how bad she was "Maybe Archery isn't your thing" he said after she fired her seventh arrow which trailed off target by several feet "Let's try sword fighting maybe that's more your style" he said after grabbing his bow and setting it on his shoulder.

Leading Jennifer over to the sword fighting arena they watched Percy as he taught Aaron several basic sword techniques the same ones that Luke first taught him when he came to camp Half Blood.

"Percy is one of the best sword fighters here. If sword fighting is comfortable with you he'll make sure you learn the best moves" Nick told her as they continued to watch Percy demonstrate moves to Aaron.

"What if sword fighting isn't something I'm good at either?" Jen asked him in a depressed tone.

"Don't worry. I'll think of something" he told her in a smooth reassuring voice as Aaron finished his training session with Percy "You're on" he said as he nodded for her to go over to Percy.

Percy saw how nervous Jennifer looked and gave her a reassuring smile "Don't worry we'll start off slow. Just watch me and mimic my moves" he said before showing her a basic back step deflection.

Doing the same thing once more Percy told Jennifer to try as he attempted to attack her with a horizontal strike. The second Percy swung his sword Jennifer stepped back and deflected the blade with ease before instinctively making a follow up swing at Percy who was wide open.

Percy and Jennifer were both surprised as well as Nick and Aaron, not many campers pull off a move like that in their first training session and almost none of them make it seem so easy. Percy thought quietly for a few seconds before deciding to try an advanced technique.

"I'm going to try something a little more advanced. I'm going to try and twist my sword around your blade to disarm you like this" Percy slowly demonstrated what he was going to do before continuing "I want you to try and stop me and counter by disarming me".

Once both of them were ready Percy lunged forward to disarm Jennifer and she quickly turned her sword along with his before twirling the sword around in her hand and quickly turning it again making a full 360 turn and turning the disarm technique against Percy forcing the sword out of his hand.

Watching from the seats Aaron was even more surprised to see Jennifer pull off something like that "Dude she's amazing" he said as he looked over to Nick.

"Ladies and gentlemen we have a natural" Nick muttered to himself as he stood up and walked down to them "What do you think Percy?"

Percy looked over to him and nodded "A lot like me. Instinctive, with a few hours of training I think she'll be ready for a good fight".

Nick smiled as he looked to Jennifer "You're doing fine; just focus and you might even become better than him". Returning to the stands just as Aaron left Nick sat back down and watched Percy and Jennifer continue advanced and even into expert sword skills.

Once Jennifer saw the move demonstrated she could easily counter it and turn it back on Percy, she didn't know how she was doing it or even how she knew how to keep the weapon balanced in her hand so well it all just came to her like she had been doing it her whole life.

After deflecting an attempted disarming technique from Percy, Jennifer quickly sidestepped his follow up swing and disarmed him before swinging her sword downward and sweeping him off his feet. Standing over the disarmed Percy, Jennifer held the tip of her sword to his throat before backing away "Sorry" she said nervously as she helped him back to his feet.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not hurt. Besides you did excellent you should be happy" Percy said as Nick walked down to rejoin them "I don't think she needs that much training. I'm sure she'll do just fine tonight".

Nick nodded "Once again Jackson I agree with you".

The three of them spent the next few minutes with idle talk before going they're separate ways. After Percy left Jennifer looked back at Nick who was obviously deep in thought "Is something wrong?" she asked him.

Nick was slowly running his fingers across his shaved chin still thinking heavily "No, I'm just going over a few things for tonight. You know strategy wise. Both my first year and over the winter I was more of a dark horse instead of straight forward placement. I don't think my role will be changed this time either so I'm just considering a few possibilities".

Jennifer didn't really understand everything he said, but she knew it would become clear during capture the flag tonight so she decided to just wait "So what should we do for the rest of the day?" she asked in a rather upbeat tone.

Nick shrugged once again "Well I feel like hitting the climbing wall, after that I'm probably gonna read a book or take a nap…maybe I'll go hunting in the woods".

Just before they left Jennifer told Nick that she appreciated him taking double punishment for her, but she was going to tell Chiron that she would accept her punishment for breaking the curfew rule.

"Bit of advice Jen" Nick began as they left the arena "Take kitchen duty and not stable cleaning its horror".

It just past noon by the time the two of them reached the big house and Jennifer went to talk to Chiron while Nick waited outside. A few minutes later Jennifer returned and smile "We've both got kitchen duty for the next couple of weeks".

"Fair enough" Nick said as the two of them turned to head for the climbing wall.

"You know. I'm actually kind of excited about tonight" Jennifer said as she slowly grabbed hold of Nick's hand.

* * *

**A/N.** That's chapter 3 hope you enjoyed it.

I'm most likely going to be taking a break from writing for a few weeks to 'recharge' so to speak. So lucky you guys you don't have to deal with me for a while.


	4. Zero Hour

"Almost zero hour" Nick said looking at the clock on his cell phone. Turning the phone off and returning it to his pocket he looked up at the climbing wall and was more or less impressed at Jennifer's progress with rockslide and lava flows trying to stop her she had still managed to stay calm enough to almost make the top, but lost her footing on the last edge and fell.

"Everything working all right?" Nick asked after helping her remove the harness.

Jen nodded "I grew up in the country and made a hobby out of small scale rock climbing, but I've never had to deal with earthquakes and lava spews while I did it".

Nick smirked and nodded his head to the side "I don't think anyone has. Anyway it's almost time you ready to roll?"

Nodding her head once again Jennifer turned to walk towards the starting point for the capture the flag event with Nick right next to her.

"Normally the camp would divide into two teams, but since the Hunters are here it will be them against all of camp half-blood. You'd think that we'd fair better than we do because we have numbers on our side, but somehow the Hunters always win" Nick explained before stopping at the Hermes cabin to collect Aaron.

"Let's go big guy" he called to the back of the cabin.

After Aaron joined them he told them both to wait outside while he changed clothes, once both Aaron and Jennifer were outside the cabin Nick walked over to his belongings and changed out of his casual clothing into Native American attire. After painting his tribal markings across his face he muttered a quick prayer before leaving the cabin to rejoin his friends.

"Whoa dude. What are you wearing?" Aaron cried after Nick rejoined them outside the cabin.

Sliding his quiver onto his back and strapping it in place Nick looked over to his red-haired friend "Comanche tribal markings and hunting clothes. I don't wear a lot of armor, it slows me down".

Aaron shrugged his shoulders as they entered the armory.

"Quickly try on some armor and tell me when you're ready. We only have six minutes" Nick told them as he waited at the doorway.

Both Aaron and Jennifer tried on various armor pieces Nick began tapping his foot as the anticipation of the upcoming event began swelling inside him.

"This will do for me" Jennifer said after trying on a lightweight breastplate and gauntlets.

"Jen go ahead and make your way to the edge of the woods Aaron and I will join you shortly".

After Jennifer left the armory Nick looked over to Aaron who seemed to be having trouble deciding what kind of armor he wanted to wear "I can't decide if I should go heavy or light" he said scratching the side of his head.

Nick sighed as he walked over to him "Move aside" he said as he quickly scanned the armor stockpile and handed him a helmet and breastplate "Put these on and follow me we're out of time here".

After Aaron donned the armor he made a few practice swings with his sword and felt that it was enough to get him through the event "This should work for now".

Nick nodded "Good now let's go war bot".

Once outside the armory Nick quickly locked the door behind him and sprinted to catch up to Aaron and make their way to the edge of the woods to join their fellow campers.

Once there Nick made his way over to Jennifer and told her to follow Annabeth once everything started.

After Chiron finished explaining the rules to everyone the conch horn sounded and every camper as well as the Hunters raced to their respective flags and waited for the horn to sound again. "Once that horn sounds do whatever Annabeth tells you to all right" Nick reminded Jennifer as well as Aaron.

"Why her?" Aaron asked.

"Because she's the best strategist in the camp and I wouldn't tell you to follow her if I wasn't sure of it".

The horn sounded again and Nick raced away from the others as he went off on his own quickly disappearing in the shadows of the forest.

"Jennifer, Aaron follow me we're leading a charge to their home position" Annabeth ordered before running off with a few other campers including Percy and Will Solace from the Apollo cabin.

"Once we make it to the river Percy will create a distraction while Will and I take there flag your job is to keep them off of us understand?"

Jennifer and Aaron both agreed to Annabeth's plan and followed her through the woods seeing small signs of battle such as the silver glow from the arrows of the Hunter's as they flew through the air.

It didn't take long for them to reach the river once at the water's edge Percy went to work and willed the water to rise up and send a wave crashing by the flag stand and knock over the single hunter that was guarding it.

"Let's go!" Annabeth cried once the wave subsided.

Will quickly retrieved the flag and passed it to Annabeth who quickly retreated with Jennifer and Aaron following her.

The hunter that was knocked over quickly got back to her feet and brutally incapacitated Will before taking aim at Annabeth with her bow. Once Annabeth was lined up in her sights the hunter released her arrow that seemed like a silver star shooting through the air.

Jennifer quickly turned around and used the flat of her sword to deflect the arrow before turning back around to follow Annabeth "All we have to do now is return to our side right?"

"Yeah, but there's still a long way between here and there so be ready" Annabeth said after they crossed back over the river.

Once they crossed back over the river a group of four hunters blocked their path Thalia was one of them.

"I was really hoping I wouldn't run into you Annabeth" the leader of the hunters said with a sad tone.

"If you don't want to fight me you can always just stand aside" Annabeth said in response.

Thalia shook her head "Sorry, but that's something I can't do. It's three against four, so you might want to give us that flag".

Annabeth refused to hand the flag over to them and told Jennifer and Aaron to get ready for their first fight before setting the flag down and drawing her dagger.

Thalia had known Annabeth long for a long time and she knew that she wasn't going to be able to sway her decision "I'll make this quick" she said as she set her Aegis shield and her spear into a battle ready stance.

The Aegis shield struck a sense of fear into both Annabeth and Aaron, but being familiar with Thalia and how she fights Annabeth knew not to look at the shield Aaron was borderline paralyzed at the mere sight of it, Jennifer however was unaffected.

Jennifer quickly grabbed hold of the Hunter's flag and handed it to Aaron telling him to run while she and Annabeth fought the hunters. Aaron was still in a state of fear, but the message seemed to get through he tightly gripped the pole of the flag and ran.

Thalia knew Annabeth wasn't going to be as affected by her Aegis shield than most others would have been, but was surprised to see that Jennifer was showing no visible signs of fear if anything the sight of the shield made her determined.

Jennifer opted to battle Thalia while Annabeth took care of the hunters, but before Annabeth could object to her pan one of the hunters fell to the ground incapacitated by Nick who managed to sneak around them during the intensity of the stare down.

"I think the odds are pretty even now" he said drawing his scalping knife from his belt.

The hunter closest to Nick spun around on her heels attempting to shoot him with her arrow, but Nick was already in motion. Ducking around the hunter's left side he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him before cutting the string to her bow and releasing her.

At the same time Nick made his surprise entrance Jennifer entered battle against Thalia easily parrying her spear and remaining calm even in the presence of her Aegis shield.

Annabeth battled the final hunter easily avoiding her knife and retaliating with her own.

Nick ducked under the hunter's arm as she swung her bow and stepped around her hooking his arm in her and wrenching it behind her back as he held the blade of his scalping knife to her throat.

In spite of the hunter's anger Nick kept her restrained while he watched Jennifer battle Thalia. The two seemed evenly matched until Jennifer disarmed her of her spear, after Thalia lost her spear Jennifer raised her sword to chest level and began radiating the same cold and dark aura that scared away the harpies the night before.

All of them could feel the cold presence radiating from Jennifer both ally and enemy even Nick who slowly released his restraint on the hunter who didn't seem to notice at the time. Thalia got the bulk of it she was paralyzed mid step in complete fear it was as if a cold curtain fell around her like the hand of death was just behind her.

In the distance the conch horn sounded signaling the end of the game, but none of them noticed it was as if they were separated from the rest of the camp. Not long after the horn sounded the cold aura vanished and Jennifer fell to the ground motionless.

"Jen!" Nick cried after she fell running over to her Nick got on his knees and lifted her body into his arms as he called her name "Jen answer me!"

Placing his fingers against her neck Nick gave a huge sigh a relief as he felt a pulse "We should get her back to camp. Annabeth give me a hand" he said lifting Jennifer's arm over his shoulder while Annabeth did the same.

"Thalia could you grab her sword?" Annabeth asked before they started walking back toward camp.

Nick and Annabeth emerged from the woods to see that the Hunters of Artemis had once again won, but neither of them paid much attention to the thought as they rushed over to Chiron.

"Chiron!" Annabeth cried as she let go of Jennifer to force her way through the crowd of campers.

Nick kept Jennifer supported against him as he watched Annabeth explain to Chiron what happened.

Just as Thalia and the other three hunters emerged from the woods Chiron quickly galloped over to Nick and examined Jennifer.

"She's just exhausted. I'll take her to the big house and give her some ambrosia and nectar; she'll be fine by morning". Chiron took Jennifer from Nick and quickly galloped off to the big house after telling the campers that it was time for curfew.

All the campers returned to their respective cabins except Nick, Aaron, Annabeth and Thalia.

"What happened to her anyway?" Aaron asked walking over to Nick.

Both Nick and Annabeth explained what happened to Aaron after he left with the flag, but once they finished Annabeth asked him how he lost it.

"I was ambushed. The only other camper close by was that Ares girl Clarisse, but she was more focused on taking the flag from me than dealing with the hunters that were attacking us".

"That sounds like Clarisse" Annabeth muttered before looking over to Thalia "You look shaken are you all right?"

Thalia shrugged her head to the side "Whatever she did shook me up pretty bad. It felt like I was staring death right in the face".

Annabeth and Nick both began thinking heavily both of them remaining silent for several minutes before Aaron reminded them of curfew.

"Right curfew" Annabeth said surprised before saying goodnight to Thalia, Nick and Aaron.

"See you in the morning Thalia" Nick said before leaving for the Hermes cabin with Aaron.

Thalia looked down at Jennifer's sword and began thinking about the cold curtain she felt fall upon her when Jennifer fought her "Death…"

Quickly running over to the armory Thalia placed the sword at the door before returning to the Artemis cabin for the night.

* * *

**A/N.** That's chapter 4 as always hope you enjoyed it.


	5. Westward Bound

_Jennifer awoke to find herself lying in the middle of a clearing in a forest. Getting to her feet she looked around for any sign as to her location, but all she could see was the surrounding forest._

"_How did I get here?" she asked herself before seeing a butterfly flying around her and landing on her shoulder._

"_You must go west" a powerful voice said to her just as the butterfly landed on her shoulder "The plains in the west where you grew up. You are the only one who can aid me young Jennifer" the butterfly flew away after the voice fell silent leaving Jennifer asking an unanswered question._

"_Who are you?"_

Jennifer's eyes slowly fluttered open and she stared at the ceiling of the dimly lit room before turning her head to the side with a fatigued groan.

"How ya feeling?" Nick's voice said from the side of the bed.

Turning her head to the other side Jennifer was both surprised and happy to see Nick sitting next to the bed; he had a relieved look on his face "Hey" she said weakly.

Nick looked over to the nightstand next to the bed and took a small cup filled with a golden colored liquid and handed it to her "Drink some of this you'll feel better" he told her before he began fiddling with something in his hands.

"What is that?" Jennifer asked before taking a small sip of the golden liquid.

"Its nectar. It helps you keep your strength and can help you feel better when your sick or tired. Don't drink too much, take small sips" Nick said as he used his scalping knife to cut a string before weaving it through whatever was in his hand.

"I meant what's in your hand".

Nick kept his eyes on what was in his hands as he spoke "Oh. It's not finished yet, but it's an old Comanche spirit ward. It's supposed to prevent you from falling ill". Nick reached into his shirt and pulled out a completed spirit ward "Like this". Letting the spirit ward rest against his chest he continued to work on the one in his hands "Since you've passed out from exhaustion last night and almost passed out the night before from the same thing I figured you could use one".

Threading several tribal beads through the strings of the spirit ward Nick continued working as Jennifer silently watched. Almost twenty minutes later Nick had tied the end of the last string into a knot and strung a lace through the top loop of the ward before getting to his feet "That should do it" he said taking a single step towards the bed and placing the lace of the ward around Jennifer's neck.

Jennifer smiled as Nick sat back down "Thanks".

"You were muttering in your sleep, something about a butterfly and going west. What was that about? Do you remember?" Nick asked tucking his own ward back under his shirt.

Jennifer placed her hand against her head trying to recall what she could about her dream "I was in the middle of a clearing in some kind of forest. A butterfly was flying around me and landed on my shoulder. Then some voice told me to get west…that's all I remember".

Nick leaned his head to the side "Sounds like you had a vision. We should tell Chiron" Nick got up and told Jennifer to rest until he returned with Chiron. Jennifer laid back and closed her eyes as Nick left wondering why it was so important to inform Chiron about her dream.

After a while Nick returned with Chiron who asked Jennifer to describe as much of her dream as she could to him. After she finished explaining her dream to the centaur Chiron thought carefully as he scratched his beard "I believe you should see the Oracle, Jennifer".

"Chiron are you sure?" Nick asked "I know that it's a high possibility, but shouldn't we let her get her strength back first?"

"I feel fine now" Jennifer said getting out of the bed "I actually haven't felt this good in a long time".

"Very well" the old centaur said "Please follow me. If that was a vision you had the Oracle will tell you what you must do".

Chiron walked out of the room his hooves clopping loudly on the floor as he led Jennifer to the entrance of the attic where she would speak to the Oracle of Delphi. "Don't take anything she says in a literal sense" Nick told her before she ascended the staircase to the attic.

Once inside the attic the door closed itself behind her, but Jennifer paid no attention to it. She continued to walk around the attic seeing many fascinating things that were lying around from weapons and armor pieces to broken chariots and old photographs that looked like they were as old as photography itself.

In the far corner of the attic Jennifer saw a mummified figure that remained still and as if by instinct she approached it before sitting in front of it.

The mummified figure slowly turned its head toward her and opened its mouth letting forth a thick, but clear green vapor that wove itself into various shapes as the Oracle spoke.

_West is where you will travel, to find the truth for you and the hunter of the plains._

_You shall discover truth and despair along the past trail._

_A goddess once again in peril only one of four can save._

_Once again only Campers and a Hunter can prevail, but to darkness one may slave._

_By the end three shall know truth, but it will be too late to save the one you care for most._

After the Oracle finished speaking the green mist retreated back into its mouth and it returned its head to its original position remaining silent. Waiting a for a few minutes to make sure the Oracle had nothing else to say Jennifer got to her feet and returned down stairs to Chiron who was chatting with Mr. D.

"If you're done here get out of my house" Mr. D said not even turning to face her "Its bad enough I'm stuck here I don't need you half-blood brats in my home as well".

"Mr. D please, she was injured and it's our job to make sure they stay safe while they are here" Chiron defended before turning around in his wheelchair "What did the Oracle tell you my dear?"

Jennifer told Chiron what the Oracle told her word for word and the last line worried both of them "I see" Chiron said with a grim face.

"What did she mean by that? Is someone going to die?" Jennifer cried as Chiron turned around.

"Heh. Good riddance one less demi-brat to get on my nerves" Mr. D grunted from the table.

Both Chiron and Jennifer ignored Mr. D's comment as they left the big house "I'm sorry Jennifer, but I even if I knew what the Oracle was saying I'm forbidden to tell you".

"Why? You're here to help us right? Help me understand this" Jennifer argued.

"I can't. It's forbidden for me to translate what the Oracle _may_ be saying. This is a quest you must undertake. You must choose your companions and set off as soon as possible, I promise you this Jennifer the Oracle's words will make sense soon enough".

It was still very early in the morning so Chiron asked Jennifer to choose her companions for her quest "Usually only three go on a quest, but the Oracle said four and one of them is a Hunter so you might want to speak to them first I believe they are at Lady Artemis' cabin preparing to leave so you'd best hurry. I will prepare you some things for your quest" once he was finished speaking Chiron turned around and went back inside leaving Jennifer alone on the front steps of the big house.

Quickly realizing that she didn't have much choice Jennifer walked back to the cabins to speak to Thalia and the Hunters about what the Oracle said. Arriving at the Artemis cabin just as the Hunters were about to set out Jennifer looked to Thalia who was leading the group "We need to talk" Jennifer said with a gloomy voice.

"If you want to join us you must speak with Lady Artemis first" one of the Hunters said from the center of the group.

Thalia held her hand up signaling the Hunters to remain silent "What is it?" she asked Jennifer seeing the mixed expression in her eyes.

"I…I spoke to the Oracle and she said that I will need to travel west with three others one of which _has_ to be a Hunter" Jennifer scanned each of the Hunters with her eyes before returning them to Thalia "I came here hoping to convince you to join me on my quest".

Thalia thought hard, but not long before she agreed to join Jennifer on her quest. Turning around to face the Hunters Thalia told them to continue their journey across the country while she traveled west with Jennifer.

"Thank you Thalia" Jennifer said in a low tone.

"Don't mention it. I don't like the Oracle and her prophecies, but they can't be avoided. Besides she said you'd need the aid of a Hunter and I'm the best one so better me than them. So who are the other two?"

Jennifer didn't have to think about who she was going to ask next she knew right where to find him.

Leading Thalia over to the Rock climbing wall Jennifer looked up at Nick as he scaled the massive wall avoiding the lava spews and rock slides with veteran ease.

"Nick!" Jennifer called distracting him from his next foothold.

Surprised Nick missed his step and slipped, but managed to catch himself and avoid the lava flow by a few inches "Bad timing Jen" he muttered to himself as he started climbing down.

"Hey you feeling better?" he asked before noticing Thalia with her "How you doing Thalia" he nodded.

Thalia didn't answer which was no surprise to Nick, the only male camper she would even consider speaking to would be Percy, but that didn't really bother him at all "What did the Oracle say?" Nick asked.

"I've been given a quest to go west. I need three others to come with me; the Oracle said a Hunter will be needed so I choose Thalia. I want…" Jennifer's words quickly trailed off and she stopped speaking for a moment struggling with herself to gather her thoughts "Nick I want you to come with me" she said nervously.

Nick smiled at her warmly "All right. I'll go get some things together. Just tell me when we're ready to leave".

Nick walked back to the Hermes cabin to gather his things while Jennifer and Thalia went to find Aaron at the Arena.

Arriving at the Arena Jennifer saw Aaron practicing his sword skills against Percy again while Annabeth alternated between reading a book, watching them and talking to Grover. Walking down the steps Jennifer called Aaron over to her as Thalia went to talk to her old friends.

"What's up Jen?" Aaron asked panting from his training exercises.

"I'm going on a quest with Nick and Thalia. I want you to come with us Aaron".

"Really?" Aaron asked shocked that she would want him to join them "All right sure I'll go with you. Just let me go get some things together".

Aaron quickly ran off just as Thalia said farewell to Percy, Annabeth and Grover before rejoining Jennifer "When do we leave?" she asked.

"I think we should leave as soon as we can. The earlier we start the sooner we finish right?"

Thalia nodded her head to the side as they walked back to the Hermes cabin so Jennifer could gather some of her own things before leaving.

Once at the cabin they saw several Hermes campers laughing uncontrollably as Travis Stoll was screaming while trying to wash off the paint that was on his face.

"What happened?" Jennifer asked Nick who had his bag slung over his shoulder.

"The idiot decided to try on some of my tribal war paint. Turns out he's allergic to the barriers I used to make it and…well you can see the result".

Travis Stoll continued to run back and forth in front of the cabin desperately trying to wash the paint off his face with whatever he could with his brother Connor who was laughing at him offering no help at all.

"Anyway I'm bored with them so I'm ready to leave once you are" Nick said just as Travis turned for the lake and sprinted toward it.

"I just have to get some of my own things together and I'll be ready" she said as she walked into the cabin once Aaron came out giggling like a fool.

It didn't take long for Jennifer to gather her things since she didn't have much once she came back outside the four of them returned to the big house to get advice from Chiron before they set out.

At the steps of the big house Chiron handed Jennifer a bag telling her that there was enough supplies to last all of them for a month before letting them know that Argus will drive them back to the city "From there you will be on your own. Stay together and protect one another and you'll be fine" he said before resting his eyes on Nick and Thalia "You two have the most experience so I'm trusting you both to not let anything happen".

"You got it Chiron" Nick said just as Argus walked out of the big house and lead them around the back and over the hill to his van.

At the top of the hill the four demi-gods made one last glance back at the camp before setting out.

Once they were inside the van Argus started the engine and drove away taking them back to the city where he would leave them to complete their quest.

* * *

**A/N.** There's chapter 5 enjoy.

So Jennifer's been given a quest to travel west to find truth for herself and two others, but if what the Oracle says is true one may die...


	6. Move Out Destination New Mexico

"Thanks Argus" Nick said as he, Jennifer, Aaron and Thalia climbed out of the van.

Argus didn't speak as usual, but his various eyes expressed for them to be careful.

"We'll be fine. See ya when we see ya" Nick said before Argus drove away leaving the four of them at the bus station.

"So we're taking a bus then?" Aaron asked "I only have a twenty on me, do we have enough for a cross country trip?"

Nick looked at the bus schedule and then to his watch "The next bus doesn't arrive for a while so that gives me time to make a call".

Nick looked across the street at a hotel "Let's go" he said crossing the street which to no one's surprise was backed up due to a crash further down the road.

Once inside the hotel Nick quickly walked over to the receptionist and asked if they had a pay phone nearby.

Pointing out the pay phone near the bathrooms Nick ran over to it and told the others to keep watch while he made a call.

"Won't that attract monsters?" Aaron asked.

"Why do you think I asked you to keep watch?" Nick muttered as he dropped in a few coins.

There was little noise in the hotel lobby which was perfect for Nick he could hear the phone perfectly.

"Dad!" Nick said after a short silence "Yeah it's been fun so far" he continued.

"Listen Dad I'd love to talk, but I don't really have a lot of time. I'm assisting on a quest to head west and well we might need some expenses covered. I just wanted to let you know".

Neither Thalia, Jennifer nor Aaron could hear what Nick's father was saying on the other end, but judging by Nick's tone it was all good.

"All right thanks dad. You take care all right. I can't rebuild the Charger alone" Nick said before hanging up.

"We're good to go let's get out of here".

"Your dad?" Aaron asked wearily "You called your dad to bum money?"

"Why not?" Nick asked walking over to the receptionist desk again "Do you know where the nearest car rental place is?"

"Oh sure one moment I'll give you directions" the lady said in an almost motherly tone "Planning a trip with your friends?"

"You could say that. A little summer trip back home to New Mexico" Nick smiled as the receptionist handed him a small piece of paper with directions to the nearest car rental place "Thanks. Have a good one" Nick said before leaving with the others.

"A rental car?" Jennifer asked "Won't they ask you for a driver's license?"

"Of course they will they're required to by law, but it won't be a problem" Nick replied taking his wallet from his right pocket and flashing his driver's license to her.

"You never said you were allowed to drive" Aaron said stepping over to his left side.

"Didn't seem to be worth mentioning before".

"So we're going to rent a car to take us across the country? Do we even have enough money for that?" Aaron asked.

"Thanks to my old man we do. Our expenses are well covered for our quest" Nick said placing his wallet back in his pocket.

"My dad is a Real Estate manager" Nick said before Aaron could ask.

Thalia remained silent for the entire walk to the car rental.

Arriving at the rental car lot Nick went inside while the others waited for him. "You ok Thalia?" Jennifer asked walking over to the Hunter who stood alone at the side of the wall "You've been quiet since we left camp".

"I'm just not much of a conservationist" Thalia said "Don't get me wrong I appreciate the fact that you wanted me to help you, but being around those two does conflict with my oath to Artemis".

"But you're helping me with my quest she won't hold that against you will she?" Jennifer asked her.

"No she won't its just something I'm not used to".

"But you talk to Percy and he's a guy"

"Percy is a different case. He saved Artemis over the winter as well as myself and Annabeth". "I'm honoring a friend" she said under her breath.

Jennifer didn't know what to talk about she felt uncomfortable around Thalia, but then again she felt uncomfortable around everyone except Nick.

"Hey Jennifer" Thalia started as she continued to slowly scan around the parking lot "What did the Oracle say?"

Jennifer lowered her head slightly as she recalled what the Oracle told her, "West is where you will travel, to find the truth for you and the hunter of the plains. You shall discover truth and despair along the past trail. A goddess once again in peril only one of four can save. Once again only Campers and a Hunter can prevail, but to darkness one may slave. By the end three shall know truth, but it will be too late to save the one you care for most".

"A goddess once again in peril?" Thalia's face darkened "Artemis. Artemis defeated Atlas over the winter he was the general of the Titan army. Someone must be trying to get revenge for his defeat".

"So when the Oracle said, a goddess once again in peril, only one of four can save. It meant only one of us can save her?" Jennifer asked her.

"Probably" Thalia said before her thoughts trailed off.

Thalia was snapped out of her train of thought by the sound of a car horn. Looking over to the other side of the building she saw Nick sitting in the driver's seat of a 2003 Toyota Camry "Ready to go?" he called over to them.

After the three of them got in the car Nick slowly drove out of the lot and to the highway which would take them straight to Tennessee.

"So how far west are we going?" Nick asked Jennifer who was sitting next to him. Both Aaron and Thalia were in the back seat.

"I don't know. The Oracle said to travel west where we will find truth for myself and the hunter of the plains" Jennifer explained staring out the window.

"Hunter of the plains?" Nick asked "I was born in New Mexico and I was raised and learned to hunt on the plains. Chances are she meant me. Guess that means New Mexico is our first destination".

"Hey Nick can we get some music?" Aaron asked rubbing the back of his neck.

"You got it" Nick muttered as he reached over and flipped the radio on, the station it was set to was currently playing a country song none of them recognized.

"Oh god no" Nick whined as he reached his hand over to the radio and slowly scanned through the stations.

Stopping at a radio station long enough to read a few road signs Nick cheered happily when he heard the radio DJ say "Our next song is Burning for You by the Blue Oyster Cult, so sit back and enjoy".

"Sweet!" Nick said casually "I love this song".

As the song began playing Nick silently sang along with it as he continued driving.

Seeing Nick singing to himself Aaron tapped him on the shoulder just as the song was ending "Come on Nick don't hold back let's hear that voice of yours".

Nick eyeballed Aaron from the rear-view mirror as the DJ announced the next song "Boy that was great. I love the Blue Oyster Cult their songs just have that feeling to them you know. And speaking of feelings our next song came by a special request from yours truly. Our next song is More Than a Feeling by my favorite band of all time Boston".

As the intro to the song started playing Aaron pushed Nick even more "Come on bro, let's hear that singing voice".

Nick smiled from the corner of his mouth before looking at Jennifer with a pleading look.

Jennifer smiled at him before looking away.

Nick smiled again as he opened his mouth and to both Aaron's and Jennifer's surprise his singing voice was amazing.

"I looked out this morning, and the sun was gone. Turned on some music to start my day  
then lost myself in a familiar song. I closed my eyes, and I slipped away"

"It's more than a feeling when I hear that old song they used to play. And I begin dreamin', till I see Marianne walk away. I see my Marianne walkin' away"

"So many people have come and gone their faces fade as the years go by, yet I still recall as I wander on as clear as the sun in the summer sky"

"It's more than a feeling when I hear that old song they used to play. And I begin dreamin', till I see Marianne walk away. I see my Marianne walkin' away"

"When I'm tired and thinkin' cold I hide in my music, forget the day and dream of a girl I used to know. I closed my eyes and she slipped away, she slipped away"

"It's more than a feeling when I hear that old song they used to play. And I begin dreamin', till I see Marianne walk away."

After the song ended the DJ spoke again "Wow I get so happy every time I listen to Boston, such a great band. Anyway our next song is a single by the…"

Nick reached over and turned the radio down before looking at Aaron through the rearview mirror "Any other requests?" he asked smugly.

Aaron was stunned by Nick's singing voice and didn't speak; Thalia obviously didn't care so Nick looked to Jennifer next "Well?" he asked her "Yours in the only opinion that really matters here".

Jennifer tried to hide her smiling face by looking away, but Nick could see the edge of her reflection in the side mirror "I liked it" she said "But I prefer something more along the lines of AC/DC".

Nick raised his eyebrow before flipping the radio stations again and finding a rock station which conveniently was playing AC/DC's Back in Black.

"How's that?" Nick asked slightly turning the volume up as he bobbed his head slowly.

"Better" Jen replied as she leaned against the window.

For the next few hours the four of them continued to listen to the radio while Nick and Aaron would exchange a few stories. Thalia remained silent and Jennifer had decided to rest and closed her eyes.

Crossing the Pennsylvania, West Virginia border Nick pulled into a rest station telling the others that they would stop for ten minutes to stretch and use the bathroom before continuing.

Once the four of them got out of the car Nick locked it and placed the key in his pocket as they walked inside the rest station "If your hungry whatever you order is on me just let me know before you go do anything and no wondering off on your own" Looking over to Jennifer and Aaron he said "I want both of you to stay within sight of either me or Thalia at all times. You still don't have a lot of experience fighting on your own so stay near one of us ok".

Both Jennifer and Aaron nodded in agreement before Nick left for the bathroom leaving both of them with Thalia.

"So who's hungry?" Aaron asked them.

As Nick squeezed his way through the narrow hallway to the bathrooms at the far end of the hall noticed that a single man had been watching him since he entered the building with his friends.

"Please be someone who just has a strange curiosity for me" Nick muttered as he opened the bathroom door before quickly ducking into the supply closet right next to it.

Keeping the door slightly open enough for him to peer through Nick watched the same guy that was watching him go into the bathroom with the obvious shape of a sword pressing against the his long jacket.

Stepping out of the supply closet and into the bathroom Nick closed the door behind him and locked it "Any reason you followed me down here?" he asked.

Surprised the man turned around and glared at Nick his long jacket buttoned up to conceal his body, but at such close range Nick could tell that he wasn't human.

"Next time you should try a better disguise, but then again" Nick pulled his scalping knife from his belt "There's not going to be a next time for you for a long while".

The man removed his jacket revealing his armored body and his sword "Well so you're her son? I was expecting someone more impressive, but guess I shouldn't be surprised".

"Sorry" Nick said arrogantly "Not sure I follow".

The man laughed "I wouldn't expect you to. Introductions are in order. I am the Titan Menoetius titan of violent rage and human mortality".

"Menoetius?" Nick wondered under his breath "I was under the impression that you were forced into the service of Lord Hades as a bondsman. What are you doing here?"

"Take a guess hero" Menoetius laughed "I'm here to kill you".

Nick stood his ground and waited sizing up the titan that stood before him _"This isn't good"_ he thought _"There's no way I can beat this guy"_.

Menoetius smirked before swinging his sword smashing the door as Nick ducked under it.

Making a quick stab at the titan's eye Nick ran out of the bathroom and forced his way through the hall.

Once back in the lobby he called over to Jennifer and the others "We need to leave now" he yelled before running over to them.

"What's going on?" Thalia asked as he stopped next to them.

"No time we need to go now!" Nick said looking over his shoulder "Let's go back to the car".

Running out of the door along with his friends Nick unlocked the doors and got in the car quickly starting it "Buckle up we're leaving" he said before locking the doors and driving away.

"What's going on?" Aaron asked "Why did we leave so soon?"

"Menoetius came after me in the bathroom" Nick explained "He said he was there to kill me, he didn't say why. All he said was I was _her_ son".

Slowing down to the speed limit Nick caught his breath before looking at Thalia through the rearview mirror "Thalia any idea who he meant by 'her'?"

Thalia shook her head "No. I don't know much about Menoetius other than that my father was the one that struck him down".

Nick sighed "Oh well. I'll find out soon enough I guess".

The rest of the trip was spent in silence with the exception of the radio, entering the city of Lexington, Kentucky; Nick kept his eyes open for road signs that would lead him to a nearby hotel where they could stay for the night.

Glancing over his shoulder Nick saw that Aaron had fallen asleep "How you holding up back there Thalia?" he asked quietly as he slowly pulled off of the interstate and onto the city road.

"I'm fine" Thalia said with an emotionless tone.

"I'm going to pull into the Holiday Inn up the road here. We'll stay here for the night and head out tomorrow".

Pulling into the parking lot of the Inn Nick reached around and slapped Aaron in his arm to wake him before gently shaking Jen awake "Let's go you two. We're going to stay here for tonight".

Getting out of the car Nick waited for everyone to grab their respective bags before he locked the car. Walking inside Nick walked up to the reception desk "How can I help you son?" the man behind the desk asked.

"We're going to need two rooms, preferably ground floor and close to an exit. If you have it" Nick said as he set his bag on the ground and pulled out his wallet.

"Sorry son, but the only rooms we have available are on the third floor. Will that be ok?"

Nick nodded his head to the side "Sure. Are the rooms next to each other?"

The receptionist nodded "Yes they are now how long will you be staying?"

"Only one night. We have a long drive ahead of us" Nick said handing the receptionist a credit card from his wallet.

After the man behind the desk swiped the card through a reader he handed it back to Nick who quickly put it back in his wallet "And there it is. Ok two rooms for one night here are your keys and enjoy your stay".

After handing Nick the keys the man pointed them down the left hall telling them that the stairs and elevators were around the first corner before he went back to reading a magazine.

Taking the stairs up to the third floor Nick handed Jennifer her key and said "See you two in the morning" before he unlocked the door to the room he and Aaron were going to share.

Closing the door behind him Nick walked over to the bed near the window and sat at the edge of it "You can shower first if you want".

In the next room Thalia had said the same to Jennifer before sitting at the edge of the bed closet to the window.

By the time Jennifer was out of the shower Thalia was already sleeping so she put some clean clothes on before walking out into the hall and staring over the rail at the city lights.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Nick asked calmly as he walked up the hall with his shirt resting on his right shoulder and his hair combed back.

"I just wanted to look at the sky before going to bed" Jen explained as he stood next to her.

The two of them didn't speak much; they just stood there leaning against the rail staring at the city a few miles from the hotel the only sounds were the blowing of the wind and the occasional car that drove past the hotel.

"Hey Nick" Jennifer finally said.

"Yeah?" Nick replied calmly looking over to her.

"Wha…What do you…" Jennifer seemed to be struggling with what she wanted to say "What do you really think of me?"

Nick turned to face her with a gentle gaze in his eyes "I really like being around you. I think you're…" Nick's words trailed off and for a few seconds the two of them stared into the other's eyes so deeply that time seemed to stop.

Once again just like the day he brought her to camp Half-Blood, Nick could feel the same cold aura that seemed to cover her and even though it was cold the aura also seemed to have a welcoming feel to it.

Nick reached over and embraced Jennifer before gently pulling her closer to him and holding her for a few minutes before backing away.

After he let go of her Jennifer looked away trying to hide her blushing face "We…We should get some sleep we're leaving in the morning".

"Good night Jen" Nick said gently as she went inside and closed the door behind her.

Entering his own room Nick locked the door behind him and crawled into his bed before quickly falling asleep.

In Jennifer and Thalia's room Jen was lying in the center of her bed holding the spirit ward Nick made for her loosely in her hands.

"Find truth for myself and the hunter of the plains" she muttered to herself as she stared at the spirit ward "Did the Oracle mean truth of our feelings?"

Rolling onto her side Jen placed the spirit ward on the nightstand and closed her eyes falling asleep with a warm smile.

* * *

**A/N.** That was chapter 6. Hope you enjoyed as always.

So the group has a destination set in New Mexico and Thalia believes that Artemis is once again in danger.

What's more is Jennifer and Nick seem to be growing closer to one another. Will their relationship work out in the end? Or does the last line of the Oracle's prophecy mean that something bad will happen?

Only one way to find out. Wait for the next update.


	7. Love leads to Death?

I know it's been a while since I last updated. Busy with other projects, but at long last here's chapter 7. Enjoy

* * *

"Anytime now" Nick said to himself as he leaned against the driver's side door of the rental car.

Looking up at the 3rd floor walkway he stared at the two rooms as he continued to wait for his friends to join him. Checking his watch Nick sighed just as Jennifer and Thalia began walking down the staircase.

"Aaron you got two minutes" Nick yelled as he opened the trunk for the girls to put their bags in.

Running over to the railing Aaron called back "I can't find my other shoe just give me a minute".

"It's a hotel room. How does he lose a shoe?" Jennifer asked as she got in the passenger side.

"It's Aaron" Nick replied also getting in the car with Thalia behind Jennifer. "Going to be a long drive ahead of us I don't plan on stopping until we hit Louisville".

Once Nick started the car Aaron bolted down the stairs and into the car apologizing for taking so long.

"Don't worry about it" Nick muttered before pulling out of the hotel parking lot and returning to the interstate heading west to Louisville, Illinois.

Once they were back on the interstate Aaron looked over to Nick and asked "So where exactly are we going in New Mexico?"

"Santa Rosa would be a good place to start" Nick replied as he changed lanes "Mainly because I live out there and we're going to be there anyway so I figured we could stay at my place while we're out here".

Looking out the window Aaron grunted "Well the sooner we get there the better. I don't like being trapped inside this car for too long".

"Well this is Jennifer's quest" Nick noted "So I'd say it's up to her to decide when and where we stop, wouldn't you agree Thalia?"

Thalia didn't answer she remained silent as she stared out the window keeping her eyes sharp by counting exactly how many people were in each car in the opposite lanes.

"That's a yes" Nick smirked before shifting his glance to Jennifer "You're call on when to stop Jen".

Just over an hour later the group arrived in Louisville, and Jennifer asked Nick to stop so they could rest and stretch out their legs before moving on.

"You got it" Nick muttered pulling off to the side of the road and then into a rest station "Twenty minutes sound good?" he asked to which Jennifer nodded before getting out and stretching her legs.

Getting out of the car and locking the door Nick placed the key in his pocket just as another car of high school student s pulled up next to them.

One of the students immediately jumped out of the back seat and started hitting on Jennifer and Thalia while Aaron was inside and Nick had just opened the hood of the car to check its oil levels.

"Get lost" Jennifer said in the same cold tone she used when Nick first met her.

"Come on sweet thing" the high school student continued as he flexed his arm "See this? Only a real man playing real sports could end up like this. Why don't you join me for a little lunch?"

"I'd keep moving if I were you top notch" Nick said before closing the hood of the car and wiping a small spot of oil from his hand "Trust me, those two ladies are more than you'd ever be able to handle".

"Who are you supposed to be their keeper?" the high school jock scoffed.

Nick smirked "They don't need me to help them. I'd say it'd take either of them less than six seconds to have you screaming in pain".

"Oh they'll be the ones screaming" the jock said "But it won't be screaming of pain if you know what I mean" he laughed before looking over his shoulder at his two friends who high fived one another at the joke.

"How delightfully vulgar" Nick said before looking at Thalia and Jennifer "Should I get rid of him or do you two wanna do it?"

"He's not worth the effort" Thalia said looking away from them and at the road.

"Man I knew Goth chicks were hostile, but not like that" the jock laughed.

"I wouldn't go there guy" Nick scoffed before taking a single step forward "All right Thalia I agree that he's not worth the effort, so I say we just wait for Aaron to get back and then we leave".

"What's taking him so long?" Jennifer asked looking at the rest station.

Nick shook his head and muttered something in Greek "Jen you and Thalia go find Aaron I'll stay here and keep an eye on the car".

"You sure you'll be ok by yourself?" Jennifer asked him.

Nick gave her his patented 'did you really just say that' look, just before the high school jock viciously pushed him to the ground.

"Nick" Jennifer cried just as Nick hit the ground.

The jock and his two friends began laughing as Nick got back to his feet "They never just walk away" he muttered as he dusted the dirt from his sleeves "Sorry girls" he said "But I'm just going to get rid of this guy right now".

The jock taunted Nick before trying to push him again, but he had already used the last of Nick's patience the first time. Once the jock put his arms out Nick grabbed his wrist and wrestled him to the ground before slamming his forearm against the jock's temple.

"You should've just walked away guy" Nick taunted before the other two jocks walked around the car and over to him.

"Oh goodie two on one" Nick smiled just before Jennifer walked over to his side and glared at the two jocks.

"Leave now" she demanded in a cold, deathly tone that sent chills down everyone's spines.

Immediately both of the jocks had expressions of fear before they both ran inside the rest station away from Jennifer.

"Well" Nick began in a disappointed tone "I guess that's one way to get rid of them".

Just as the two high school students entered the rest stop Aaron had come out gazing at both of the screaming students wondering what was wrong with them before he moved his eyes to his friends. "You guys just can't stay out of trouble when I'm not around can you?" he joked walking back over to them.

"Shut it and get in the car" Nick said in an authentic English accent as he unlocked the car and got in the driver's seat.

"Nice accent bro" Aaron said as he got back in his seat behind Nick, while Thalia sat behind Jennifer.

"I can do Russian and Scottish to" Nick told him as he started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

Once again back on the interstate they choose not to stop until they at least made it another halfway to their destination, the more time they spent stopping and resting the more time they wasted.

"We're not going to stop again until we hit Norman, Oklahoma" Nick told them as he turned on the radio which began playing a smooth classic rock song.

It was a long, quiet drive. No one really said much with the exception of Aaron asking Nick a random question or Jennifer giving a quick scoff and smile every time Nick shot his hazel eyes over to her.

After another hour of silence Nick made a quick lane change before glancing to the rear view mirror. "All right I've had enough of that" he said before changing lanes again.

"What's going on?" Aaron asked sleepily waking from his border sleep.

"That white car two cars behind us, has been following us for almost an hour now. They're subtle about it, but they've changed to the same lanes I have and they've stayed behind us exactly two cars".

Aaron turned around to glance at the white car Nick mentioned "Sure you're not just being paranoid bro?" he asked.

Nick shook his head "Only one way to find out" he muttered taking a small turn off of the interstate and driving down toward the lower roads.

Looking into the rear view mirror again Nick watched as the white car followed after them staying at a consistent distance behind them. "Thalia I can't turn around to get a better look can you see who's driving that thing?"

Thalia turned around and looked at the car "It's a Cyclops and a Dracaenae"

"Seriously?" Nick sighed "I don't feel like dealing with all of this" he whined "Alright hang on we're losing them".

"What do you mean?" Jennifer asked him just as Nick slammed his foot on the gas pedal and sped down the road before turning into an alley.

Once inside the alleyway Nick turned into a side alley and kept going until turning into another before slowing down and coming to a stop. "Stay in the car" he told all of them before getting out and kicking over everything he could, small trashcans old plywood pallets and cardboard boxes.

Seeing the white car drive past their alley and then hearing it screech to a stop Nick ran back to the car and got back in "That'll slow them down, but not by much" he said driving off just as the white car with the Cyclops and Dracaenae drove after them and drove over the trash pile Nick left behind which managed to stop them.

"Nice going there bro" Aaron said after they returned to the interstate.

"I don't fight fair" Nick began "But like I said that won't slow them down for long. They're probably back on the road again, but at this rate there's no way they'll catch up to us".

"So what now?" Aaron asked.

"Well" Nick said "There's no way that those two just happened to come across us. They're definitely looking for us so I think stopping now would be a bad idea".

"So what then?" Aaron asked in a mixed tone of panic and anxious.

"We keep going" Nick told him "So get comfortable we're not going to be stopping for a while".

Just like Nick said, they weren't stopping. They had passed one rest station and a few hours later they had passed another. It was 8 P.M. now and Aaron had drifted off with Jennifer following soon after him.

Once midnight hit Nick looked at Thalia through the rear view mirror and said quietly "You can go to sleep if you want we'll be fine".

"Thanks, but I'll be fine" she muttered without looking at him.

"You don't have to be so hostile Thalia" he said before getting an unfriendly glare from her "I know that you can handle yourself. I'm just trying to look out for you, don't go without sleep for too much longer. Otherwise you won't be much use if we end up in a fight later on".

Decided to take Nick's advice Thalia slowly closed her eyes as she rested herself against the window leaving Nick the last one awake.

Now at 2 A.M Nick couldn't keep himself awake any longer thankfully they were close to a large mall giving them a safe haven for the night. Driving into the parking deck Nick set the car to the far side with Thalia and Jennifer's side against the wall before he turned off the car and turned over onto his side facing Jennifer before closing his eyes and falling to sleep himself.

Feeling a powerful sense of rage and anger, Nick opened his eyes and looked over to a tough looking man dressed in black leather biker gear standing on the other side of the parking deck they were on. He was staring right at them.

Yawning slightly Nick unlocked the car doors and got out staring right at the man looking at them.

For whatever reason the more Nick looked at this guy the more anger and rage swelled within him, but thankfully Aaron's voice drew his attention away from the strange man "Where are we?"

Looking down at his friend Nick said "I pulled into a parking deck so we could rest for the night". Looking back up Nick saw that the man had vanished along with the sense of rage Nick had from looking at him.

"Any chance on getting breakfast?" Aaron asked him just as Thalia and Jennifer began waking.

"Well it's a mall so maybe" Nick told him as they all got out of the car "I think we deserve a little break don't you?" he asked Jennifer who gave a tired nod in response.

"Then it's settled" Nick smiled "To the mall we go".

Entering the stairwell the four demigods reached the ground floor of the parking deck and walked over to the mall's west entrance shielding their eyes from the sun's light until they could adjust to it.

Once inside the mall's doors Nick heard a familiar song on the speakers "Hey!" he cheered "This is Obsession by Animotion, I love this song".

"It's what by who?" Aaron asked.

"Animotion was a New Wave and Synthpop band in the early 80's" Nick explained slowly waving his head and shoulders side to side as the song played above them.

"And you listen to that?"

"I love music from the 80's more than any other" Nick told him before pointing up to the next level "We gotta get you some clothes before we do anything Aaron. That shirt of yours isn't going to hold together much longer".

Aaron looked down at his tattered shirt and short jeans as well as his shoes, Nick was right both the jeans and his shirt were over 6 years old and the shoes were so worn that the soles were splitting from their liners.

"And then we eat?" he asked Nick.

"Then we eat" Nick nodded before looking over to Jennifer "Stay with Thalia at all times ok".

Jen nodded "Alright".

"Let's go psycho" Nick said lightly slapping Aaron on the back of his head before stepping onto the escalator in front of them.

Walking over to a Hot Topic, Nick led Aaron inside and held his arm out "Go nuts".

Aaron began walking around barely paying any attention to the clothing he seemed to be more interested in everything else particularly the music selection.

"Clothing only Aaron" Nick said before feeling the same sense of anger and rage he felt in the parking deck.

Looking over his shoulder Nick spotted the same biker guy he saw in the parking deck, he was leaning with his elbows against the Plexiglas railing staring right at him.

"Yeah, this ends now" Nick said to himself walking over to him and leaning his back against the railing with his arms folded just under his chest "Any reason you're following me and my friends?" he asked the biker.

The biker looked down at him and Nick's feeling of rage erupted as he saw the red eyes glowing under the biker's sunglasses.

"Perhaps you don't know who I am" the biker said before Nick interrupted.

"Lord Ares, god of war" Nick said looking away from him trying to keep his composure in the war god's presence.

"If you know who I am you'd kneel to me" Ares told him.

"And cause a commotion in a public place, not going to happen" Nick said "Now if we were outside I'd have no problem with it, but since we're not" Nick stopped as if to say 'yeah, we're just not doing that' and looked back to Aaron who was using a mirror to hold a brown shirt against his torso.

"So what brings you here Lord Ares?" Nick asked him without looking to him.

"It wasn't my idea, Aphrodite brought me here" the war god explained before turning his head and nodding over to a ladies wear store across from them on the other ledge.

"Lady Aphrodite is here as well?" Nick asked turning around and looking over to the ladies wear store "Is she really as beautiful as Percy Jackson said she is?" Nick asked Ares.

"First off" Ares began "Don't mention that boy's name in my presence. And secondly words cannot describe her beauty".

"Let's go meet her then" he said turning around to collect Aaron, but before he could say anything a beautiful woman had caught his eyes.

Ares was right; there was no describing the beauty of this woman, her brown hair flowed flawlessly down her head and over her shoulders, she was wearing a stunning white dress with matching heels and a crystal necklace with a dove pendant. "Hello Nicholas" she said in an entrancing, angelic voice.

Nick slowly bowed "Lady Aphrodite, it is an honor".

Aphrodite had a small smile on her face "You may rise Nicholas". Her voice seemed to have more of a command feel to it than a request.

Nick straightened himself and looked at the goddess "What brings you here?" he asked her.

Aphrodite looked to Ares and in graceful movements waved him away, much to the war god's annoyance, as he turned to leave Ares glared at Nick one last time before walking away.

"He does not like me" Nick noted aloud before turning back to Aphrodite.

"I came here because I could sense something truly beautiful young Nicholas" she told him as she looked next to the ladies wear store to the store Jennifer and Thalia were in.

"I was wondering where those two were" Nick said seeing Jennifer and Thalia walking around inside the store.

Aphrodite smiled "Not since I met Poseidon's son did I sense such love".

"You mean Percy?" Nick asked her returning his eyes to the beautiful goddess "And what do you mean by 'sensed such love'?"

Aphrodite's smile grew a bit as she looked right into Nick's eyes "I'm referring to his feelings for Athena's daughter and your feelings for her" she said before looking back to Jennifer and Thalia.

"So you can sense when someone is in love with another" Nick said in an impressed tone "That's really cool".

Aphrodite gently rubbed her hand across her shoulder brushing her hair back into place, the motion itself almost made Nick faint from excitement.

"Your feelings for that girl" she began "Are the strongest I have felt in years. Not since my love for Adonis have I felt love this strong".

Nick was speechless, Aphrodite's words burrowed into his mind and began circulating everywhere, so many questions were going through his mind now. _"Did he really love Jennifer? When this quest was over could they really be together? Does she feel the same way about me?"_

Bringing himself out of his thoughts Nick looked over to Jennifer who had walked to the back of the store to try on some clothes "Does she feel the same way about me?" he asked Aphrodite.

Aphrodite dropped her smile "She's still struggling with her own feelings, but she does care for you more than anyone else at this point, which is why I came here".

"What do you mean?" Nick asked quickly turning to face her.

"The oracle spoke to me, a warning" the goddess of love and beauty began "Jennifer's path is one of pure darkness and danger and if you decide to pursue her it could cost you your life".

Nick fell silent for a moment thinking heavily on what he was just told before speaking "Are you sure about this?"

Aphrodite nodded.

"Then that's a chance I'll take" he said turning to look at the store again "I love her and the fear of death won't stop me from proving that to her. I'd do anything for her as cliché as it sounds there's nothing more I want than to be with her as much as possible".

Aphrodite placed her hand over her chest "The passion in your words young demigod" she said in a warm tone as if she was falling in love with Nick herself "Never have I felt passion this strong not even in ancient times have I seen anyone this determined. You'd follow her into the Underworld wouldn't you?"

Nick nodded with a determined expression "From the Underworld to the summit of Mt. Olympus, from the ruins of ancient Greece to camp Half-Blood. I'd follow her anywhere and nothing could stop me".

"I have to admit young Nicholas" she said in a charming tone "I am jealous of her to have someone like you falling for her".

Nick raised an eyebrow at Aphrodite while she spoke.

"Don't worry, I would never do anything to get in the way of true love that would be denying who I am. You have my blessings in your quest to win her heart".

Nick fell silent again as he thought on what the goddess just told him _"I have her blessing? Does that mean that I have a sure shot or does that mean there's really a chance for me?"_

"I hope we'll meet again Nicholas" Aphrodite said bringing Nick out of his thoughts and walking away in the same direction Ares had earlier.

"Wait" Nick blurted out taking a single step forward.

Aphrodite had a wishful smile on her face as she turned to look over her shoulder.

"I have to know" Nick began before catching himself for a brief moment "Are you…Are you my godly parent? My mother?"

Aphrodite's smile lessened before vanishing completely "No I'm not" she admitted "I wish I was though" she continued "Having a son like you would prove how strong love really is".

Nick looked toward the ground as Aphrodite continued to walk away, he looked over to Jennifer who had finally come out of the dressing rooms and left the store with Thalia. She was absolutely stunning, her black hair was brushed back and she was wearing a black dress shirt with blue jeans and black dress shoes that matched her shirt. And a crystal pendant of a butterfly rested gently around her neck.

Once Jennifer saw Nick, he held his hand up to them just as Aaron called him into the store.

Walking over to Aaron Nick pulled out his wallet and quickly swiped the credit card his dad gave him to pay for Aaron's new clothes which consisted of a red Linkin Park shirt and brown desert camouflage jeans and black tennis shoes.

"Sharp clothes bro" Aaron said staring at Nick "Where'd you get them?"

"What?" Nick muttered before realizing that his clothes were different. He was now wearing a black/gray three piece suit with matching dress shoes with a white underlying shirt and silver cufflinks. His undershirt's collar was unbuttoned since he didn't have a tie on. There was no doubt about it Nick was dressed sharper than a razor.

"_Aphrodite"_ he smiled in his head.

"Dude I could never dress like that" Aaron said after the shop clerk handed Nick the receipt for the purchase.

"I like to look my best" Nick told him before they walked across the pathway to meet up with Jennifer and Thalia.

"You look beautiful Jen" Nick said after they regrouped.

Jen's face turned red as she looked away to hide her face "Thank you" she muttered.

"Can we eat before I pass out?" Aaron asked.

"Right, I hope everyone's hungry cause I spy me a Waffle House" Nick said pointing at the ground floor to the far side of the mall.

* * *

**A/N.** So the gang is getting closer to their destination, and Aphrodite has given Nick a warning about his feelings for Jen. Will pursuing her really lead to his death? Or will he be able to find a way to make his wish come true and be with the girl he loves? Even I don't know the answer to that one.


End file.
